The IMPORTED ENGLISH Orpington Thread

[justuschickens59]

This thread is to post pictures and discuss the beautiful English Orps. Please, no discussion on APA standards, auctions, etc. We just want to see pictures and talk about this beautiful eye candy.

Winston and Clementine are our English Blue Orpingtons that we imported last year. I took some photos today of their oldest chicks, The O's (Olympia and Octavia), Hagrid, Rumples, and Bluebell, and thought I would share.

Bluebell - she is such a pretty little girl

Hagrid

Hagrid and Octavia

Hagrid and Olympia

Rumples

The Three Butts - Hagrid and The O's

The O's, Bluebell, and Hagrid

The O's, Hagrid, and Rumples

The O's

Olympia

Rumples and Bluebell - I love this picture

The O's

Octavia - I think she is absolutely stunning, if I do say so myself.

 

[Faraday40]

So this is not truly orp-related.... other than we brought one along.... but seasonal fun.

We set up a display at the school's annual "Trunk or Treat" .... chicken themed with a couple live hens of course.

 

[Faraday40]

With great sadness I must announce that my dear sweet bantam Orpington hen, Cookie, passed away on Sunday. She was the queen of all broody hens and mother to most of my flock.

For the 1st few years of her life, Cookie was my only bantam. She hatched along with full-sized orps and could hold her own. She knew how to use her size and speed to dash in & under the others to steal all the best treats. Cookie earned the nickname, "the bantam menace," because of her stealthy actions (and our Star Wars theme).

Cookie was an adorable ball of feathers and looked like a mini hot air balloon when broody. She could also pancake herself to accommodate up to 8-9 large fowl eggs. We called her "Cookie Monster" when broody. Because our roos were always large English Orpingtons, Cookie never had any biological offspring, but that never seemed to bother her. Going broody early & often was her mode of operandi . Her motto was, "If it peeps, it's MINE!" She never seemed to quit. She could scream like a banshee but was never "pecky" toward my fingers.

Cookie earned the title of Queen Broody not because of her large spread or hatching ability but for her multiple adoptions. She raised bantams, large fowl chicks, ducklings, turkeys, and quail. If it peeped, Cookie would care for it. Because she was small, it was easier for us to add Cookie to the big brooder and just let her adopt all the chicks. Her record was over 3 dozen! She happened to go broody about 3-4 days before a big hatch was due. I pulled one egg out at lockdown and slipped it under her..... then added the incubator chicks a few at a time as they hatched. She must have thought she was "SuperHen." She sat on ONE egg for 3 days and hatched over 3 dozen chicks! Thankfully Cookie couldn't count, so as some chicks were sold, more were added the following week. She could easily handle chicks of different ages and species. (I certainly wouldn't try that with any other hen.) To Cookie, learning how to scratch was the most important lesson for her chicks. It didn't matter if there was a full bowl of chick feed. Cookie would tidbit to her babies and go into a scratching frenzy - spreading food everywhere and sometimes even sending an unlucky chick flying across the brooder. LOL

Last summer Cookie started laying soft shelled eggs. Extra calcium didn't help. I felt relieved when she was broody because it paused her egg production. She never really laid another normal egg and I knew she had some type of reproduction disorder. About 2 months ago, Cookie started slowing down and losing weight. A lump under her vent began to grow. She ate and drank and hung out with my laced orps, but she no longer "ran around" like she used to. She would come when called - but at a walking pace. Like a true orpington, she never lost her desire to eat. After she passed, I did a necropsy and found a large lash egg. (Salpingitis) My only good news is that she is no longer in pain.

RIP My Sweet Little Cookie
April 22, 2013 - March 28, 2021
​

This is how I will always remember her:

​

Inflation

Hot chicks in cars. (My daughter actually played with Cookie like a baby doll, so seeing her driving around the bedroom with Barbie wasn't unusual.)​

Cookie asking herself, "Why did I want to go broody again?"​

Below: The only picture I have where Cookie's feet can be seen.​

"No Cookie! Stop trying to incubate that!"​

A rare sight - Cookie without chicks

Spring 2020 hatch (Yes, most are turkey poults)

Cookie and her baby turkeys

Don't you just love a good broody scowl?!​

 

[Faraday40]

Happy Easter Everyone!

These are
Silver Laced Orps

 

[LadiesAndJane]

Just wanted to share an updated photo of my only Orpington, Lacey! Posted her here a few months back. She is now 6 1/2 months old POL, expect an egg any day! She has the sweetest personality, avoids conflict and I just love her!

 

[justuschickens59]

Here are a couple of pictures I took today of the youngest batch of W&C chicks and the little splash chick that hatched today.

 

[justuschickens59]

Thought I'd post a few photos of Winston and Clementine, the proud parents. I know I've posted these before, but what the heck

Clementine

Clementine

Clementine

Winston

Winston

Winston

Winston

Winston and Clementine

Winston and Clementine

Winston and Clementine

Winston and Clementine

 

[jeremy]

Can someone explain to me the difference between Isabel and Lavender color? I dont want to start any fights LOL but the Isabel looks to be just a lavender with tan/gold leakage on the hackle, saddle, and shoulder feathers?? do they breed the same as lavenders? Black x Isabel = Black Isabel Splits?

"Isabel" genetically is Lavender diluted Crele. Crele is Cuckoo/Barred Partridge. Lavender, is Lavender. It is it's own gene and is sometimes also referred to as Self-Blue.

The reason Isabel "looks to be just a lavender with tan/gold leakage on the hackle, saddle, and shoulder feathers??" is because Lavender doesn't only dilute the black based parts of a birds plumage but also the red/orange parts of the feathers. So the black barring turns pale gray (Lavender) and the red/orange of a Partridge bird turns yellow/pale gold.

The pastel hue of the Isabel color makes it hard to discern the bird's pattern. Conversely, depending on how well patterned underneath the Lavender dilution is could attribute to the lack of definition in the bird.

Breeding a Black cock bird to a Isabel hen will produce single barred male offspring and solid Black female offspring. All with red/gold leakage (especially in the males) and all recessively carrying 1 copy of the Lavender gene.

Breeding a Isabel cock bird to a Black hen will produce single barred male offspring and barred female offspring. All again with red/gold leakage and all recessively carrying 1 copy of the Lavender gene.

Thanks for the compliments, those are my pride and joy

I call my birds Isabel Cuckoo but genetically they are Isabel Partridge Cuckoo Orpingtons. (Lavender Crele) I shortened the name a bit
This is what most people call them in England.

As far as breeding to blacks, I am not entirely sure and a genetics guru might need to chime in on this one. I would assume you are correct though about the splits unless someone else chimes in who is better at genetics than I am.

TheNuttyChick: Isabel and Porcelain are two different colors. Porcelain is Isabel with the mottling gene.

Quick correction, Porcelain is not Isabel with the Mottling gene.
Isabel withe the mottling gene essentially would be a Lavender Mottled Barred/Cuckoo Partridge bird. Which in the males would look almost solid white, with a gray cast and sort of Exchequer-esque in the females.They might look something like the Fifty-Five Flower Hens but replace the Black parts of the birds with Lavender.

Porcelain is Mille Fleur with the Lavender gene, there is no Barring involved.

To create Porcelain Orpingtons you would simply breed Jubilee and Lavender Orpingtons together, then breed their offspring together until you got the desired color result.

 

[Faraday40]

Due to the 1st real snow of the year, I decided to take some pretty pics of Blizzard, my blue silver laced orp hen.

The flash went off for this pic below, so the color is different. You can also see some of her new feathers still growing in. (She's taking her own sweet time!)

 

[Faraday40]

Here's my "big butt" boy

Here's the other guy with the nice face.

Both seem to have good temperaments. (Run up to greet me & Follow me around if they think treats may be involved. Not cuddly but not much fuss to pick up and carry around.) I'm leaning toward the 1st one (cockerel with the better body) but I'm going to give them more time.